Meet Emily!

We are so thrilled to introduce Emily Ford, who has graciously agreed to tutor our upper high school students for Advanced English with British Literature.

Emily is well known among many homeschool families as the instructor at Southwest Tennessee Community College who is "homeschool friendly". She has unwittingly become an asset to our community and now we get to sing her praises as a Community tutor!

Emily has a passion forteaching, writing and literaturewhich eventually led her to pursue her master's degree at University of Central Arkansas and become a college professor and a freelance writer as well as editorialist. She enjoys literature of all kinds but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Joyce Carol Oates are among her favorites.

Emily will tell you that she did not earn her degrees with the intention of teaching but because she loves language and learning and these are what she excels in. She explains best in her own words how she came to teaching:

"When I was expecting my first child, I knew that I did not
want to work full time. So, I quit and took freelance writing jobs in the
Features department at The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This was a nice
way for me to continue writing, this time about much more interesting topics,
on a part-time basis which allowed for me to enjoy raising my son. At the time,
my husband and I were still living in the town where we went to college. In
what I now recognize as not merely coincidence, but rather Divine Intervention,
I ran into a professor of mine whom I had worked for in the writing lab during
graduate school. She asked if I had ever considered teaching a class since I
had my Master’s. I decided that might be a nice fit for me and my family.

Now, picture this. I breeze into the English department
offices of the University of Central Arkansas pushing my one-year-old son in a
stroller with my resume in hand. I am just planning on handing it to the
secretary and going on about my day. I clearly remember being in shorts. The
secretary tells me that the dean of the department may have time to see me
right then. Uhhhh. I believe his intention was to check off that he had seen me
and then dismiss me because the rumor was that UCA tended not to hire graduates
as their adjuncts. So in I go with Jacob, stroller, and all. For some reason, Dr.
Harvey was, I think, pleasantly surprised by me and liked that I had writing
experience. I was hired. Teaching two classes that semester while a good friend
took care of my son gave me my first taste in the classroom and I was hooked. I
enjoyed the students and the reading and writing we did together. It felt more
like a calling than any job I’d had before."

Learn more about Emily's teaching style as well as information about her exclusive Community class offering for 2015-2016 here. We know you and your student will appreciate Emily as much as we do when you see her in action doing what she was called to do!

"She made my first college level class way less intimidating than I expected. She wanted us to develop our own voices but gave us structure and help along the way."

Amberleigh has had a great year and learned so much! Thank you! ~ Pam, Community parent

We have loved the atmosphere & learning & community. ~ Community parent from a recent survey

Paul is my kids’ favorite. They love his class. ~ Community parent from a recent survey

We love Mrs. Suzanne! I am grateful to have found her when I did! ~ Claire, Community parent

Great teachers, great location, great friends! We LOVE Community! ~ Teresa, Community parent

Lovely family atmosphere. The tutors are nurturing. The teaching is excellent! ~ Community parent testimonial

Every tutor involved is friendly, helpful and supportive of homeschooling in general. The teachers have gone above and beyond every time my child hit a tough spot. ~ Community parent from a recent survey